But to this the cardinal would not consent until Baldassare had been arrested and made to disgorge the money paid him.

Then, at last, Sforza-Riario complied with Michelangelo's demands and delivered him his Cupid--a piece of work whose possession had probably ceased to give any pleasure to that collector of the antique.
But the story was bruited abroad, and cultured Rome was agog to see the statue which had duped so astute a judge as Sforza-Riario.

The fame of the young sculptor spread like a ripple over water, and it was Cesare Borgia--at that time still Cardinal of Valencia who bought the Cupid.
Years later he sent it to Isabella d'Este, assuring her that it had not its equal among contemporary works of art..